Black Eye Today

This is my eye today with no makeup. If only I could get the other side to match it wouldn't be so bad.

Series of Unfortunate Events

We have had a streak of bad luck over here at the Sims household. On Thursday Henry ate peanut butter for the first time by accident. Henry has a class IV peanut allergy, which is considered life-threatening. Anything above a class II means 100% chance of reaction if exposed. Chad took Henry to a park to play and a boy offered Henry some Ritz peanut butter crackers. Chad was talking with the boy's father, and when he glanced at Henry, he had two crackers in his hand. Chad asked Henry if he had eaten one and sure enough, yes. Chad rushed him to the car and by that time Henry's mouth was hurting. He was blowing, as if his mouth was burning from eating hot sauce or something. We have an action plan from the allergist that tells us whether to give the EpiPen or Benadryl, based on the symptoms. Since he wasn't wheezing or having trouble breathing it was Benadryl. As soon as he got the Benadryl the symptoms went away. Thank goodness we carry that stuff everywhere we go! I was actually a little relieved, thinking that maybe he will be fine if he has peanuts again. But after reading some message boards I found out that those Ritz crackers don't contain much real peanut butter. I never thought I would be thankful for processed foods, but this time I sure am!

Yesterday I took the day off for a doctor's visit. They ended up having to draw blood, which I hate. I'm usually just fine if they can find my veins right away, but this time they couldn't find anything. (I have had this problem many times before, and sometimes they have had to draw blood from my feet or hands.) Finally they got one, but nothing would come out. At this point, I started to feel clammy and faint. I asked if I could go to the restroom and on my way down the hall I started walking funny. It felt like my head weighed 1,000 pounds. I passed out and hit my head on the frame of the bathroom door. Before I knew it, I was surrounded by nurses and doctors. I was bleeding and dizzy. The doctor told me I had a pretty bad cut that needed stitches. Because of the location, she did not want to sew me up. They ended up sending me to a plastic surgeon to get five stitches. I look like a boxer or a victim of domestic violence, and I feel pretty embarrassed about the whole thing. The stitches come out on Thursday; I am hoping the scar won't show too much. I was thinking about getting some purple eye shadow for the other eye. Any shade suggestions? ...lilac sky? ...purple indulgence?

Before

After

A Few More Halloween Pics

Neighborhood Halloween Party at the Sullivans.

Henry was too zapped to Trick-or Treat after the party,
so we just went by the Buttons and then home.

Not the greatest pic,
but it is so hard to capture these three together.

Halloween Party at Creative School

Henry's school had a Halloween party at school Thursday. Chad and I signed up to help out, which we thought meant bring something. Last week I got an email from the mother that was planning the party and she wondered if I could be there to help with the crafts and games. I decided, what the heck...I'll just take a day off work and do it. I'm so glad I did because it was so fun to see Henry with all his friends at school. I probably won't have the opportunity to do that again; next year he will be at a different school. Henry dressed as Woody from Toy Story. My mom made the vest and Henry is wearing my old cowboy hat from when I was a kid.

We were in charge of bringing the wax lips and a sweet snack. I made pumpkin popcorn balls. They turned out pretty cute and they tasted like rice crispy treats. You might be able to see one on Ava's plate if you enlarge the picture. They had green twizzlers for stems.

We are going to our neighborhood Halloween bash on Sunday night. Happy Halloween everyone. Reach for the sky!

A&M

Here are some pics from the weekend in Ft. Worth/Arlington. Erik and family, my dad and I went to see the Razorbacks play A&M at Cowboy Stadium. Unfortunately, I was feeling a little ill before the game even started and the cannons that A&M shot when their team came out of the tunnel at halftime put me over the edge. They could have warned us about the cannons.

I dare you to try and find a more expensive Miller Lite.
$8.50 and it still tasted like piss water.

Sunny beautiful weather, unlike a year earlier when it rained.

Crazy Hair

It's spirit week at school and today was crazy hair day. This was my favorite. She took two empty water bottles and then wrapped hair around them--very creative. Can't wait for country hoedown day on Thursday! That should be interesting.

Creative School

Henry started preschool on Tuesday. He goes Monday-Friday mornings, which is a big change for him. He had been going to a Mother's Day Out on Tuesday/Thursday mornings, but since he is starting kindergarten in a year we wanted him to be better prepared. So far he says he loves his new school. Chad and I have been pretty impressed with the curriculum and teachers. They have language, science, math and history each day and they also have music 1x per week. His teacher is certified and they follow state guidelines for preK education. We got a calendar with all the units to be explored and they have some fun stuff on the calendar (i.e. police dog visit, pumpkin patch visit, parties, programs, and Mother's Day Tea). Can't wait!

Henry is a purple cat. Each room has an animal and a color theme that ties in to the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? You can see that his room has quite a bit of purple in it. Henry's favorite color has always been red, but he has recently changed it to purple. He told me that he or Jack always "sits on the V" on the blue rug at circle time. I thought he meant that he sat on the corner until I saw this picture.

The only thing I'm a little concerned about is that they are not a peanut-free facility. The director said they would like to be, but it is too difficult. At the parent open house before school started, the teacher told everyone that the purple room was peanut-free due to an allergy. None of the parents said a word that night, but the next day we got an email that kids could pack peanut butter in their lunches. I guess a parent or two complained. I really don't understand the dire need for peanut butter when a child in the room has a life-threatening allergy. Somebody help me understand this from another perspective.

Branson's House

In June we took the boys to Branson. We stayed for a week in a house that Henry kept calling "Branson's House." Later, when the mysterious man named Branson never showed up, Henry began to call it "the Branson house." It was the boys' first trip to Silver Dollar City. (And Chad and Aunt Karin's first trip too!) Henry still talks about it. A few days ago he asked if we could go back to the Branson house. I was thinking he was a little young for Silver Dollar City and Branson in general, but he had a blast. SDC has an area of rides for toddlers. (Can't say I have ever spent much time in that area before, so I didn't remember it being there.) We also visited Splash Country, the butterfly house and the aquarium.

First Timers

These rides were on Henry's level.
But he was really scared on Fire in the Hole.

Cooling Off--
Why is it always so hot at SDC?

Moonshine Beach is the only sand beach on Tablerock Lake.

I love how clear the water is.

The Landing

Kaden checks out a butterfly.

They liked Aunt Karin's orange shirt.

Just like Alpha Pig on "Super Why" with his magnifying glass.

Bear

We spotted a bear in the parking lot of the condo in Colorado. (We were safely watching from the second storey window.) Maybe if you click on the image you can see it. The bear was trying to steal a snack from the dumpster and the guy in the foreground was chasing it off.

Colorado Wildflowers

Orange Paintbrush

Goldenrod & Pearly Everlasting

Evening Primrose

Evening Primrose

Monkshood

Fireweed

Richardson Geranium

Columbine

No Need for A/C

Thanks to my parents, who are keeping Henry & the dogs, Chad and I are on a vacation this week. We arrived in Santa Fe on Sunday night near sunset. You can see that it was raining a little in the distance and the view out the car window was spectacular. We stayed Sunday night at our favorite little hotel in Santa Fe, the Hotel St. Francis. The rooms are tiny, but we love the charm and location of this hotel. An added benefit, the hotel is located next to my favorite restaurant in Santa Fe, Pasqual's. They have the best organic breakfast and coffee anywhere. Guess where we ate on Monday morning?

After breakfast we strolled around on Canyon Road and looked at the art galleries. I found a white turquoise ring that came from the Cerrillos mine, which I have read is the oldest mine of any kind in North America. It was used by the Pueblo people 2000 years ago and is still in use today. It is my eight year anniversary present from Chad. Here I am in front of a gallery on Canyon Road.

Last night we arrived in Durango for a stay at the condo. The weather is so nice here. Our condo does not have an A/C, but the temperature is nice and cool. In fact, I had to pull on a hoodie earlier. I love that! We hiked the Cascade Creek Trail this morning. Chad would kill me if he knew I was posting this picture, but take a close look at the backpack. It is a Jonas Brothers backpack that we bought at Wal-Mart. Why Jo Bros, you ask? We forgot our backpack in Fayetteville and it was on clearance for $3. Chad said I had to carry it, but as you can see...

More pictures from our hike this morning...

Happy Father's Day

Happy father's day to my dad and Henry's dad. Henry and I are very lucky people.

Toltec Dig 2010

The Arkansas Archeological Society annual dig was at Toltec Mounds Archeological State Park near England, AR. I just got back today so I have a whole new appreciation for air conditioning, ice, and my own bed after sleeping in a tent for a week. This site is so important because it is a unique example of a Late Woodland (A.D. 600-1150) site with ancient earthworks. (Most earthworks in this region are not that old!) There are 18 mounds on the site and some are well-preserved. The tallest mound is 49 feet (14 meters) tall. There is evidence that these mounds were build by people hauling earth one basket load at a time. It was so hot and mosquito-ridden, but I feel honored to have the opportunity to work on such an important site. It's also fun to see some familiar faces that I only get to see once a year. People from all over the U.S. return each year to the AAS digs and I have known these friends for 12 years.

Dawn & I are trying to escape the heat on the boardwalk behind Mound A.

Some of the stuff we found.
Quartz Crystals & Pot Sherds

Lots of animal bone.
Deer, turtle, and some bear.

Mound C

Bird Point--No, I didn't find this :-(

Mound D Excavations

There are always critters to deal with.
This salamander found its way into our unit and couldn't get out!

This snake also slithered over to see what we were up to.

Sunrise

Sunset over Mound B on summer solstice (or close enough!)

Toltec Mounds State Park

This is the base of a Gary spear point. I found this one!

Working on my unit with Marilyn Knapp.